The weather has turned...

I guess we were lucky long enough....winter has officially arrived in Minnesota.  After beautiful, sunny, 60-degree weeks, the weather dropped over 40 degrees yesterday and is now barely 20.  Plus, the snow has fallen and it looks like it's going to stick.  It's hard to even get our heads around this sudden change.  One day, we're running around without jackets and today it's all hats, mittens and boots.  Yuck.

Well, Jeffrey and Honey know what to do in weather like this -- curl up on a warm blanket and snuggle!

Thanksgiving at the Sparkses'

Last night we had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with my mom, dad, sisters, brother-in-law, niece and nephews.  Charlotte and Brennan had a great time with their cousins and we laughed a lot and enjoyed some games. Bill made prime rib and my sister, Laura, made the traditional turkey.  It was a feast that surely commemorated the first holiday of the sort and brought to mind that we have much to be thankful for...

Singing at the Book Store

Charlotte's choir sang at the local Barnes & Noble book store all day Saturday.  Since this was an all-day event, the kids could come at any time throughout the day, and so maybe 1/4 of the choir was there at any given time.  Here are a few snapshots of Charlotte with her very dear friend, Marin.  Brennan snuck in a couple of shots, too.  Can you find him?

Thanksgiving Day Run

Janet got up early and ran the Fast Before the Feast race in White Bear Lake.  4 nieces, 3 nephews, 2 brothers-in-law and one sister ran the race, too.  What a fun family traditional that has been going on now for maybe 5 years now?  It's a great way to start the holiday!

The weather was unseasonably warm, as it's been for the past few weeks.  60 degrees and sunny.  But by nightfall, the snow was falling!  Pretty typical for Minnesota!  Shorts in the morning, parkas at night!

Maestro Brennan

Brennan performed in his very first piano recital.  The song he chose was "Go Tell Aunt Rhodie."  He did great!

Happy Halloween!

The kids had a great Halloween.  Charlotte dressed up as a ballerina bunny and Brenny was an army guy.  Bill was a skeleton.  I stayed home and passed out candy to over 200 trick-or-treaters.  I stopped counting at 202.  One neighbor said she counted 243, while another counted 285!!